One is Never Enough
by OrangeCataclysm
Summary: Lelouch, a normal student at Ashford Academy, meets two new transfer students. The strange part? They're twins with long green hair, and they act completely different. What's a guy to do?
1. Chapter 1

Ashford Academy: a haven for the most brilliant, eccentric students from all across the world. Students parade themselves around proudly, supporting their club, the school, or just their status in general. It's a place for the rich to send their kids, knowing that they'll probably end up well off in life. Everyone is forced to join a club, orders given directly from the student council president herself. The madness associated with this school unsettles even the most hardened, bloodied veteran.

And I'm a student here.

And to top it off, I'm also the student council's vice president. Busily carrying out 'her majesty's' orders. But not by choice, our grand president kindly delegated the position to me. I was on one of my many errands for her as we speak. The school's festival would open soon, and so preparations were slugged onto the rest of us. Luckily my friend Suzaku was with me, which made the tasks at least bearable.

At the moment, we were carrying a bunch of boxes. "Ugh…" I stumbled, but caught myself before prat-falling. Scratch that, carrying a bunch of HEAVY boxes to the student council tent.

Suzaku grinned, "What's the matter? Can't lift a few small boxes?"

"Not everyone has as much strength as you," I snapped back.

"Touché, but it doesn't mean you can get off so easy," Suzaku sped up, "C'mon, let's finish up."

From there we moved, and unpacked all the boxes at their respective stalls. Suzaku ended up doing most of the heavy lifting and Rivalz stopped by to help unpack. He didn't actually help much, but I suppose moral support counts. The actual festival opens in two days, and thanks to Milly's procrastination, everything was put off to the few days beforehand.

Shirley strolled up to check on our progress, "How's everything going?"

"Everything's on schedule, we should be finished up in a half-hour," I answered plainly.

"That's good," she paused, as if she had something more to say. Her eyes glanced at me for a moment, and once I met them, she shifted hers away. "Lulu…" She started.

"Yes?" I looked at her questioningly.

Her eyes shifted at the ground, "I-it's nothing. Don't worry about it." She turned around and walked away, too fast for me to reply.

I waited until after she scurried away, turning to Suzaku, "Do you know what that was about?"

Suzaku sat on a box, his face resting on his fist, "You honestly can't figure it out?" He sounded amused.

"Yeah, it is pretty obvious," Rivalz added. God, that stupid look on his face made me want to hit him.

I quickly peered over at the both of them, "What do you both mean?"

"You're a wiz at chess, you're our valedictorian, and you're the vice president of the student council, but when it comes to things like this, you really are stupid," Suzaku teased.

I visibly showed my annoyance, "Out with it. What did she mean?"

"It doesn't mean a thing if we tell you," Rivalz eluded.

I sighed in frustration, eager to move on to something else. If they weren't going to tell me, I might as well, "So, Suzaku," I gave a serious expression, "What's going on between you and Euphy?"

He froze, "I-I don't know—"

"Don't deny it, I've seen how you two have been acting around one another, and there's definitely something going on."

Suzaku grit his teeth, but then sighed in defeat, "And here I thought we were being subtle…"

I gave him a victorious grin, "She is my sister after all. I can notice the changes in her behavior quickly, especially in regards to my best friend."

"So you noticed something like that, but you can't figure out Shirley?"

My smile faded, and three possibilities shot up in my mind. Based on what he said, does that mean Shirley…? No, why would she? I shook my head, that definitely couldn't be it. But without proof otherwise… "Are you saying that Shirley," I choked out the next few words slowly, "has a thing for me?" That was a good way to put it.

Suzaku clapped his hands, "Very good Master Lelouch! You are an excellent detective," he joked.

"Shirley huh…" I didn't particularly dislike her, but to be honest, I've always seen her as a friend; a fellow student council member and classmate. Never something to get romantically involved in, but then again, I never really engaged in a romantic relationship before. Sure I've gotten love letters and requests before, but every time I turned them down. I wouldn't call myself shy, just—isolated. I didn't want to deal with any of that, and frankly, I see it all as ridiculous nonsense.

I stared up at the sky, the sun halfway down already. The horizon streaked a beautiful array of orange and other warm colors. I gazed at it for some time; romance just isn't my cup of tea. I dismissed the thoughts and went back to work. Like I told Shirley, we finished up in a half hour and all went our separate ways. What Suzaku told me still rang in my mind. Does Shirley really like me? It's not a situation I'm used to.

I was walking to the dorms where I stayed with my sisters Nunnally and Euphy. My parents stayed either back at home in Britain or in our estate back in southern Japan. The majority of the time they spent away from home however, and often times it was empty. Considering how far a trek it would be to school every day if I lived in our estate, I stay in the dorms, except during breaks. A chauffeur would solve the problem, but none of us minds much.

As soon as I walked in I glanced at the clock, 8 PM already. Nunnally rushed out to greet me, "Brother! You're home finally." She smiled.

Something about her smile always made me at ease, "Yeah, Milly's working us extra hard before the festival. It's pretty tiring."

"Do you need any more help? Me and Euphy aren't doing much," she offered.

"It's alright, we're almost finished. Plus tomorrow a lot of the other clubs will be helping set up as well. There's no need for the two of you to help out."

"Oh…" Nunnally looked disappointed.

I took the hint and smiled, "Hey, how about this: We'll go out this Sunday to the mall. We'll get pizza or something."

She perked up instantly, "Really?" Her puppy eyes astonished me.

"Of course, I wouldn't let my little sister down."

"Promise?" she held out her pinky.

I chuckled, "It's a promise." I crouched down a little and shook her pinky with my own. Afterward I stood up and looked around, "Where's Euphy?"

"She's in her room; I think she's talking to someone on the phone."

"Is it on the house phone?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason," I playfully waltzed over to our second receiver, picking it up and pulling it to my ear.

_"—He found out?" _It was Euphy's voice.

_"Yeah, I couldn't hide it from him. He's surprisingly vigilant to pick it up so quickly." _ This was Suzaku, just as I thought.

_"Well, what are we gonna do now?"_

"Yes, what are you two going to do?" I chimed in, a devilish grin plastered across my face.

A shocked noise came from each of them, quickly quieted by Euphy, "L-Lelouch! Get off the phone!"

"No, no, finish your conversation. I'm curious as to 'what you're going to do next'."

Euphy started to yell something, but Suzaku interrupted, "We'll finish this conversation another time, alright? I'll talk with him about this later," obviously directed at me.

They spared the pleasantries and just hung up from there. I mentally counted, _three, two, one._ The door slammed open, and out emerged a striking young beauty with long pink hair, curled into buns at the side by her ears. Judging from her expression, she wasn't in the best of moods, "Lelouch, how long were you eavesdropping on us?"

"Oh, not that long. All I heard was what I asked about," I told her the truth.

She drilled holes in me with her glare. "It's not polite to eavesdrop period," she raised her finger at me.

"It's also not polite to point," I lowered her hand.

She pouted, crossing her arms and turning the other way. Nunnally stood watching the whole engagement, yet said nothing.

"It was harmless, don't worry about it."

I'll admit, I could have phrased that better, as if her furious reaction was any indication. "Harmless! That's not the point Lelouch!" She grunted in frustration, "You don't go around interrupting people's conversations and eavesdropping on them. It's rude, and I'll bet Suzaku is as upset as I am." She stormed off without another word. Another slam sounded, and I vaguely heard a lock click. Both Nunnally and I stood there for a few minutes, surprised by the intensity her outburst. The silence pressed on, and I broke it by scrapping a chair against the ground and resting.

"Brother…" Nunnally gave me that look, the look that tells me she understands my reasons, but I still did something wrong, "I think you should apologize to Euphy."

I let out a small laugh, "And you think that'll mean anything to her?"

"Maybe not right now, but you should still apologize. That's what Suzaku would do, isn't it?"

"Well now, I'm not Suzaku," she had a point though. When Euphy gets like this, the only thing that makes her calm down is for the person to apologize. But I'm not one to swallow my pride as easily as Suzaku. If she truly wants an apology, she'll apologize first for that outburst. But that still won't guarantee me apologizing. Everyone who knows me at least understands that much.

Nunnally didn't look satisfied, but she knew she wouldn't get much more out of me. She sighed and retired to her own room, "Goodnight big brother."

"Goodnight Nunnally," I replied. Afterward, I let my mind wander aimlessly, soon thinking about the upcoming festival. It was only two days away, this Friday in fact. Preparations would be complete tomorrow, and then everything would be set. I'm actually surprised Milly hasn't blown this quite out of proportion like she normally does. She typically makes us dress up in eccentric outfits, or requires some obnoxiously over the top theme. But this time, it seemed—well, normal. She must be planning something, no doubt about it.

Would it be around the end of the festival? She's the type to end things with a bang. Or perhaps something in the middle, like kidnapping various people and doing something to them. If it was the latter, no doubt I'd be one of the ones taken. Milly just loves to mess with me and the other student council members. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if she was collaborating with Gino.

And then there's Shirley. That revelation Suzaku gave me earlier caught me off guard. Shirley likes me? I still couldn't wrap my mind around it, it didn't feel right. Maybe I'll talk to her about it tomorrow. I'll probably have to confront Suzaku about the whole 'incident' as well, and Euphy won't stay mad at me forever.

The next school day faded away fast. Euphy sat behind me in homeroom, and I could feel her boring holes into the back of my skull. Suzaku also gave me the cold shoulder, for reasons unknown. Noticing this, Kallen approached me about it in the hallway before our last class of the day, "What's up with your sister and Suzaku? They both seem pretty ticked at you."

I thought about telling her. That thought didn't last long, "Eh, nothing."

She stared at me in disbelief, "Like hell nothing happened. Euphy never ignores people like that, and Suzaku and you are usually the ones chatting like this."

"It's none of your concern, Kallen," I never really opened up to her. Sure, we were council members together and we're both like-minded, but it felt as if there was something separating us.

She brushed her red, spiky hair with her hand, her blue eyes analyzing me. She slammed her hand on the locker nearby and stared me down. I didn't so much as flinch. Unconsciously, she brought her face inches away from mine, and a sort of staring content ensued. I don't know whether or not we were testing each other's mettle or if she just enjoyed the intimacy. We remained frozen in spot for several minutes.

Kallen is one person who makes little sense to me, constantly antagonizing me, almost in a friendly way however; if that makes any sense. I've heard a term that describes this situation once, she would be my frienemy.

The bell rang, snapping us both out of the trance. Kallen finally realized how close our faces were and turned a shade red before quickly pulling back. "I-I need to get to class," I watch her hurry along. I took my time strolling to my next class. It was P.E. with Ms. Viletta after all, a teacher who can't stomach people who put forth no effort—AKA me. I'll probably get an earful as soon as I show up. After changing I decided to hang around outside the gym for a bit, I could see the class was already in the middle of doing several laps, and I'd rather wait till they finish before making my grand appearance.

After class I'll talk with Suzaku, best not to put that off. Once he's happy I know Euphy will be quelled. And then I can—

Wait. I spotted something out of the corner of my eye, in the window just outside of the building. A girl with long neon green hair, dressed in a light blue tank top and jeans peering in uncertainly. Her gold eyes shimmered in the bright sunlight. A suspicious person on campus? She looked old enough to be a student, but appeared very uncertain, almost frightened. She perpetually had a fist up to her mouth as if to shield herself.

The window was ajar, so I walked up to greet her and discern her intentions. I brought up my hand and began to say hello, but she as she noticed me, she turned tail and ran. Almost as if she thought I would do her harm. I moved my head out the window and watched her run away, she didn't even look back.

Unfortunately just then, Viletta found me skulking around, "Lelouch! Trying to skip class are you?" The door to the gym burst open.

"Huh? No, I-"

"Save it, 20 laps. Now," She pointed to the gym.

Like a punished child, I complied without a word. The others saw me slunk in and laughed when they saw me running while Viletta barked madly. Suzaku seemed especially amused by the turn of events. I made it to about the fifteenth lap before I fell over. I rolled over onto my stomach, and between huffed breaths I muttered, "I can't…do this…"

"Lelouch, you can do it. Because if you don't, I'm going to cost you that valedictorian title," she threatened.

I tried to laugh, but a battered wheeze came out instead, "I don't care about that. Try again."

"Tch, fine, you better finish up soon, if you want to go to the school festival."

I protested, "You can't bar me from the school festival, only the chairman or principal can."

"And I can give the principal a nice conversation about your little attempt to skip class," Now this threat actually held ground.

"Demon…" I struggled on my feet and continued my charge forward. She ignored my remark and kept counting my laps. My muscles were screaming at me by the 19th lap, but somehow, I made 20; promptly collapsing afterward. I laid on my back staring at the ceiling, trying to catch my breath. The bell already rang, so everyone else already left, all but one.

I heard clapping nearby, "Good job Lelouch, I didn't know you had it in you," Suzaku joked.

"I don't."

"Need a hand?" He put his arm out.

I grabbed it, and he pulled me to my feet, "I hate this class." That statement invoked a harsh glare from Viletta.

We both ignored it, "I can tell, you have no stamina, do you?"

"I'm well aware of my own weakness," I answered, "And aren't you supposed to still be angry with me?"

"Oh, that? I figure that nothing I say will make you change who you are. Being mad about it won't change anything."

I smiled, closing my eyes, "Good answer. I'm not going to apologize anyway."

"To be honest, I never expected you to. Though Euphy will still be angry," Suzaku noted.

"She'll get over it."

"You really are a cruel brother."

"I do what needs to be done," I explained.

"Including eavesdropping? AND giving yourself away too?" He had me there; I only gave myself away for the fun of it really. I was glad that Suzaku didn't stay upset too long. I needed someone to suffer with me during the festival after all, "C'mon, go get changed and we'll get to work."

P.E. was our last class of the day, so from here we both went to the student council to help with last minute preparations. Many of the other clubs already were working on things, so in the end it was just Suzaku, Shirley, Rivalz, Kallen, and I in the council room. We discerned that no one knew what Milly planned for the student council, only that she had something up her sleeve. I groaned, knowing that nothing Milly had in store for us boded well.

I admit I was curious about that mysterious girl with green hair from earlier, but I had no information on her other than a description. Prodding matters like that will get me nowhere, so I let it die.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, Euphy still ignored me, Shirley kept evading me, and Suzaku watched it all carrying that same amused expression he always does. Nunnally tried talking to Euphy about me, but to no avail. I forgot the depths of her stubbornness it's been so long, and I won't need to be reminded again anytime soon. Tomorrow: The day of the festival, I'm sure if Shirley truly does like me, she'll try something then. Euphy will be over stimulated to the point she may forget she was mad at me, and Milly has her secret in store for us.

Tomorrow promises to be one hell of a day.

I got out of bed and lazily slugged myself to the bathroom. I soaked in the water unceremoniously and changed into my school uniform. Knowing Milly this was a wasted effort for today, as she probably would dress up the student council in costumes. As to what kind of costumes, I could only dread the possibilities. For all I know she could have us all cross-dressing. And she WILL go to any means necessary to get what she wants.

I waited for both Nunnally and Euphy to get ready so I could take them both up to the Festival. They both trotted along in their respective school outfits. Nunnally blended in quite nicely with the middle school uniform. It was pink and pale yellow, matching her bright personality and complementing her smile. Euphy didn't have her normal buns in her hair, instead choosing to let it flow freely down her back, almost nearing her ankles. Once again, the pink of her hair and the pale yellow school uniform seemed to match perfectly. Her scowl ruined the image somewhat, but no doubt it would turn to a bright smile by the end of the day.

"I take it you're ready to go?" I asked.

"Yes!" Nunnally practically bounced off the walls with excitement. Euphy said nothing, keeping up her anger from the other day.

"Alright, let's go then."

We took our short walk from the dormitory to the school just in time to see everyone get into position. Out of nowhere, the PA sounded, "Milly here to sound off the festival!" She beamed, "Remember to have fun, one and all, and with the next sound, let the festival begin!"

A pause, soon thereafter abruptly cut short by a loud noise, "Meow!" Wait, was that Shirley's voice? And why would Milly choose to start the festival out with a cat's meow? I stopped trying to understand, this was Milly after all. Not long after I heard Euphy say goodbye and run off to Suzaku, leaving only Nunnally and me left.

"Big brother, look at that!" She pointed to the student council's tent. Keeping secrets again, Milly wouldn't let us see our own tent yesterday, and now I understand why. Nunnally pointed to a dunk tank, with a sign next to it that read, 'Dunk your favorite student council members!'

I mentally sighed, knowing I'd have my turn in there no doubt. The PA sounded, and rang loud and clear in Milly's voice, "Would all members of the student council please go wait outside the student council room, thank you!"

I gave Nunnally a look, and she immediately understood me, "I'll be fine, Lelouch, I'll just go meet back up with Euphy since Suzaku has to leave too."

"All right, I know I won't be there to watch over you always," I smiled to her and waved goodbye, moving on my way to the room. Considering the dunk tank, the obvious reason for calling us out to the room would be for us to change into swimwear. But with Milly, I should always expect the unexpected. Whatever it is, I'm not looking forward to it.

While walking past all the stalls I caught a glimpse of that girl from yesterday sitting on a bench. She seemed much more relaxed, not as nervous or jumpy as when I caught sight of her yesterday. I kept walking but trained my eyes on her as I passed by. Today she wore an Ashford Academy uniform, leading me to believe she's a newcomer here. I'm not that oblivious that I'd miss someone with neon green hair walking around. She noticed my stare and sent a snide smirk my way. I scowled. Her smirk remained, and now she trained her gaze on me as I walked away. I heard her mutter something, but I was just out of earshot.

Something seemed off about that girl, yesterday she was afraid of even looking at me, but now she mocked me just by looking at me? Schizophrenia? A possibility. No point in worrying about it at the moment. I hurried along to the room slowly, finding Suzaku and Kallen waiting outside. "So what's going on in there?"

"No clue, Milly's been dragging people in one after another. When Nina went in, we heard a shriek, but since then it's died down," Kallen explained.

"How mysterious…" I commented, "Anyone else notice the dunk tank at our stand?"

"Dunk tank?" Both Suzaku and Kallen chimed.

"Yeah, apparently that's one of Milly's little secrets."

Kallen looked away in distaste, while Suzaku kept his same surprised expression. But before anyone could say anything else, Milly called out, "Kallen! If you're out there, you're next!"

She winced, but quickly entered the door to get it over with. I heard a surprised gape, but it was quickly silenced. Eventually Suzaku went in next and finally me.

I opened the door, and my eyes widened. Cats; Milly dressed everyone as cats. Shirley had two small pig tails in the shape of cat ears, and a cut ensemble of a red top, bottom, and fluffy shoes. Not to mention a pink tail sticking out. Kallen wore the same outfit minus the pig tails and her costume was more of a bloody deep red.

Rivalz was covered from head to toe in a yellow costume that I assumed to represent cat fur. He had the ears on his head and a muzzle like face. Suzaku simply had a blue baggy cat costume with a couple spots painted on his face while Nina wore an almost identical outfit.

The queen herself had long black leggings with fluffy rings around her ankles. Her top revealed a lot of cleavage and cut off at her thighs, showing a lot of skin. The tail on hers looked the most realistic, and she had a pair of cat ears as well. The getup was completed by some giant cat paws. Every one of them had whiskers painted on their faces. "You're joking with me," I turned to run, but a rather naughty looking cat grabbed my hand.

"Ah-ah-ah," she waved her finger, giving me her trademark mischievous grin "You're not going anywhere."

I kicked, I struggled, I screamed, and I beat on them but Suzaku held firm on me and they resorted to tying me to a chair. "Let me go! Enough is enough!" I closed my eyes and rammed around. By now they painted on the whiskers and stuck a pair of black cat ears on me. "Stop it! I'm serious, Damn it!"

"Oh stop your struggling Lelouch, you're only making it worse," Milly stated matter-o-factly.

"Why are you doing this in the first place?" I snarled.

"Because, it's fun!" She said simply. I groaned. "Fine Lulu, you don't have to wear the full costume, as long as you keep the whiskers and ears on."

I grimaced, but accepted her terms, "Fine." They already had my shirt half unbuttoned, so the top of my chest was visible through both my uniform and white dress shirt.

"Awww… Pres…" Shirley sounded disappointed.

"Don't worry; we'll get him back with dunk tank duty." She winked.

I furrowed my brows, dreading that 'duty.' "Will anyone untie me?"

"Oh _all_ _right, _but you're the first one in the dunk tank,_" _Milly smiled, "Suzaku, untie him."

He promptly followed orders like a loyal foot soldier. I brushed myself off and let everyone see my annoyance. "Alright, I'll go off to the dunk-" I was interrupted by Suzaku grabbing my right arm in a tight grip, lifting me up slightly. A moment passed before Rivalz did the same with my left arm, albeit I was a little bit lower on that end. "H-hey! I can get there myself!" I squirmed around a bit, Rivalz grip faltered, but quickly restored.

"And you think we'll take your word on that? You'd probably run away," Milly said as she pat my head.

I growled, "Put me down!"

Suzaku apologized, "Sorry Lelouch, just following orders."

"Like hell you are, you're probably having the most fun tormenting me!"

"Maybe," He trailed off, smiling.

This was going nowhere fast. I rustled around as much as I could, but physical strength never agrees with me. Rivalz almost lost his grip several times, but Suzaku more than made up for that. They dragged me out to the festival with the other council members in tow. Various passerbies giggled watching us go by. As we passed the bench by the entrance I caught sight of that green haired girl eye me curiously, bringing her hand up as if to laugh. I glared at her, but she went unfazed. I ignored her and let the two stooges carry me to the tank.

After awhile, having two people hold you up lopsided by your armpits hurts. I winced audibly more than once, shifting uncomfortably in their grip. An eternity later, we made it to the student council's tent. They dropped me off in front of the tank's ladder, everyone of them standing guard. I scanned my surroundings, no chance of escape. Even if there was a hole in their defense, Suzaku would be quick to get me. He knows where I hide because I usually hid with him. Plus he's got ghastly physical strength and stamina. I swear he could dodge bullets if he tried.

I reluctantly climbed the ladder and shimmed over to the half plank that barely held up above the vat of sea green water. I crossed my legs and let my hand sink into my face. "Let's get this over with," I mumbled.

I saw my first customer, and I braced myself for the impending watery impact. Of course Suzaku couldn't resist being the very first one to dunk me in the tank, "Ready, your majesty?" He sometimes calls me your highness or majesty when I'm in an especially embarrassing or demeaning situation.

"Just do it."

"If you say so," he wound up, an unknown fire blazing in his eyes. He grunted on the throw, pitching like baseball. The ball directly impacted the metal at the center of the target, and suddenly the plank retracted. I scrambled to find something to grab, but of course, nothing was there. I fell into my watery pit, whilst I could hear everyone else's laughs. I surfaced quickly; the pit wasn't too deep, and I climbed back up on the plank. "Satisfied?"

"Yup," Suzaku gave me a wide toothy grin.

"My turn, my turn!" Milly pushed around to throw next. Every member of the student council got their chances to drench me. Milly got it on her second try, Shirley on her third, and Kallen on her first. Rivalz and Nina missed all three times.

From there everyone split up to explore the festival, though Suzaku stayed behind to keep me company and laugh every time I fell in. Gino and Anya both stopped by and took their shots at dunking me. Anya nailed it without any effort, and Gino took it on his third shot. He asked when Suzaku's shift was, so I assume he'll be back later. Suzaku made a trip to the restroom not long after, leaving me all by myself. Thank god my shift will be over soon, I'm itching to get out of this torture.

I watched as another customer came up, eying her suspiciously. It was that green haired girl, "You."

"What about me?" She kept an expressionless face, gazing in my violet eyes with her gold ones. Her voice came out smooth, filled with an almost tenderness.

"Who are you?" My voice came out the exact opposite, cold, rigid, and untrusting.

"My, is this how you greet someone you've never met before? Don't you know it's polite to give your own name before asking for others?" She mocked.

I growled a bit and inwardly groaned, "My name is Lelouch."

She replied, "My name is C.C., I'm new to Ashford Academy."

"A nickname; you aren't very trusting of others, are you?" I gathered.

She mumbled something under her breath, "That makes two of us…" Before I could respond, she continued breathlessly, "Shall we get started?" She picked up one of the three balls and began to take aim. She brought the ball up to her face and I had enough time to study her features. She had a rather well proportioned body, slim, one might even say beautiful. The gold of her eyes combined with the flowing neon green hair vaguely reminded me of a Christmas tree. What was visible of her skin appeared unblemished, she almost captivated me. Almost. She wound up and threw the ball, and for a split second I saw the ball's intended travel space. I was going in the water again. I braced myself once more as the plank disappeared, soon climbing back up to the top.

From what I could tell, she didn't seem all that thrilled that she made the shot. I saw a tiny little grin while I resurfaced, but that vanished in an instant. "Congratulations, you're the fourth one to get me in on their first try."

"Is that so?" An awkward silence enveloped us both. She quickly broke that silence, trying to make small talk, "I was wondering, why are you all dressed as cats?"

I ran my fingers through my drenched hair, letting a melancholy sigh drift out, "President's orders; I tried to get out of it, but she wouldn't let me."

"Sounds like this president is an interesting person," C.C. held an unreadable expression. It felt like amusement, but I could be wrong.

"You don't know the half of it…" I spat.

I heard footsteps thumping on the concrete and turned. Suzaku finally came back, "Hey Lelouch, who are you talking to?"

"I'm talking to C-" I looked back where she was standing, no one there. "—C…There was someone just there."

Suzaku kept up his usual goofy grin, "Sure you're not just going crazy?"

"Yes, I'm sure," my eyes shot open, "Ah wait, isn't it your shift now, Suzaku?" A wide, twisted grin formed across my face. I'd get my payback on him.

He chuckled a little, "I was hoping you'd forget."

I smirked, "Not likely." We switched places and I grabbed a towel to dry myself off. In doing so I accidentally wiped off my fake whiskers. I shrugged, what Milly doesn't know won't hurt her. I shifted my attention to my feline companion, "Alright Suzaku, your turn to swim." I picked up the first ball and closed my left eye. My right hand rose to about my nose and my wind up began. I threw it just as I saw Suzaku do it before, but with less success. The power behind the throw was great, but the accuracy felt like a mile off. It hit the mat behind the target and rolled to the ground.

"Sure about that Lelouch?" He was full of himself.

I furrowed my brows, preparing for my next toss. I repeated the same pose and threw it, this time with less power and more accuracy. I came closer, but still no dice. Between Suzaku's muddled laughs, I refocused myself. "I will hit that damn target…" The last pitch, rolled off my hand effortlessly, streaming toward the intended target. But at almost the last second, I watched it curve, almost like a bowling ball, and nail the spot right next to the target. I twitched.

Suzaku started laughing at my inability to hit the target. "Your turn to swim," he mimicked my voice, purposely sounding more macho than I made it out to be.

I grit my teeth, "Suzaku…" I stormed over to the target and punched it dead on. Suzaku was too busy laughing to notice my actions, and fell in unprepared.

"AH!" He screeched, "T-that's cold!"

My smirk returned, "What did I tell you?"

"Y-you cheated," He stated the obvious.

"Yeah, what of it?" I sat on the chair at our booth.

"You always do this when you don't get what you want. You can't get it by the book so you overturn the rules and just go off doing things your own way."

He's getting all philosophical on me again. He does that from time to time, "It's a valid method to meet my ends."

"But what good are ends if the means are questionable?"

I saw the direction of this conversation, and didn't like it one bit, "Let's save this for another time, your next customer awaits." It was a convenient excuse because newcomers had just shown up. Suzaku always followed chivalry and unspoken rules to the letter. He's probably hung up on the whole honor motif. In some ways, he reminds me of a samurai or a knight. I decided to hang around him until his shift ended since he did the same for me.

In the middle of his shift, Shirley came back. Something felt a little bit off about her. She seemed, jumpy, almost anxious. She slowly stepped forward to meet with me, "Hey Lulu…"

I gave her my attention, "Yeah, Shirley?"

She fidgeted around with her fingers a bit, looking down at her feet. "Could you meet up with me on the roof later? If you're not doing anything…"

I didn't particularly need to be anywhere today, but Nunnally would want to go around the festival with me first. "Sure, but can it wait until the afternoon? Nunnally and I are going to explore the festival a bit."

"O-okay, then how about at three?" She blushed, still not giving me direct eye contact.

She was pretty cute when she was flustered, "Then I'll see you at three," my lips curled into a smile.

Suzaku watched the whole exchange, and once Shirley went off he whistled, "You know why she's calling you off to the roof, right?"

"I assume it's because she likes me," I gathered that much. I'm hopeless when it comes to women, but with Suzaku's hint I got the message.

"You're not as clueless as I thought," Suzaku rested his chin on his hand, "And what do you think of her?"

I thought about it for a minute, recalling what I already figured out about her, "I don't think I like her as for now… But anything's possible."

"In other words," He summarized, "You don't know how you feel?"

"You hit the nail on the head, as usual," Whatever I couldn't figure out, Suzaku could. We complemented one another like two adjacent puzzle pieces. Perhaps that was why we were such great friends. After Suzaku's shift ended it was Rivalz's turn. Nina kept him company while Suzaku and I sought out Euphy and Nunnally. Eventually we found them sitting on a bench by the school pool.

We each went with our respective girl, and I trusted Suzaku wouldn't do anything to Euphy. He was my best friend after all. I'll talk to each one individually about their 'mutual interest' later, but for the time being, I had a date with Nunnally. We prowled around the festival for the rest of the morning, seeing cheap parlor tricks and terrible shoddy goods and services for sale. What always amazed me was the willingness of people to actually purchase said goods and services, they're all awful.

We met up at one with Suzaku and Euphy for lunch. Euphy seemed to have forgotten her animosity toward me as she was her usual cheery, bubbly self. After about a half hour, we all went back out again, this time as a big group. We snaked around, and like before I found myself dumbfounded by the sheer idiocy of it all; containing my contemptuous laughter.

Before I knew it, three o'clock snuck up on me, and I entrusted Nunnally to Suzaku and Euphy while I went away, "I'll be back in a little bit, okay, Nunnally?"

"Where are you going, big brother?" She gave me another one of her classic looks.

"Shirley said she wanted to talk to me on the roof, so I'm going to meet her," I explained.

Euphy made a small gasp, "S-she wants to meet you on the roof?"

I had no idea what she was imagining, but I assumed it to be mildly perverted, "Yes, that's where she told me to go."

Suzaku chuckled, "Good luck, Lelouch."

I returned the gesture, "I don't need luck, or don't you remember?" and I walked away toward the roof. He knows how I treat luck and chance, I make it myself. On my way through the door I spied C.C., standing behind a—no, she was hiding behind a pillar. I tilted my head, slightly confused. Now she acted more like the one he saw the other day who ran from him. I thought of possibilities and came up with about eight possible explanations. Out of those eight, about three were plausible. Normally I would try to confront her, but I didn't want to make Shirley wait too long.

I hurried up to the roof, patiently waiting for the elevator to carry me four stories up. When the doors finally opened, I had to walk up another flight of stairs to make it to the top. There she was, Shirley Fennette, gazing out off the balcony hunched over it. Her gaze seemed distant, as if lost in thought. "Shirley?" I snapped her out of it.

"A-ah!" She turned around quickly, "Lulu!" She blushed.

"So, what did you call me out here for?" I walked up next to her and leaned my arms on the balcony.

If her blush went any deeper I would've mistaken her for a tomato. "Uh…Well…You see…" She was fidgeting, trying to choose her words carefully. She took a deep breath, "Lulu."

"Yes?"

"For the past few weeks I…" She started, pausing, "I've been getting this weird feeling around you."

I said nothing, just staring at her. I supposed it unnerved her a bit, because once our gazes met, she shifted her eyes to the floor again. "I don't know quite how to put this…" She continued slowly, "But… I think I like you."

I let this sink in for a second before replying, "Like me? What do you mean?" I wanted to be one hundred percent sure.

She put a finger up to her mouth, "I mean… I like you more than a friend. As in…" Her blush deepened, "Like a…lover, maybe." She whispered the last line, fidgeting again.

Now that I wasn't prepared for, my eyes shifted around, as if looking for an avenue of escape. I thought of plans to get out of this situation. Nothing I came up with would leave Shirley happy except if I lied to myself.

My thoughts evidently took longer than I intended, as Shirley broke me away, "Well, Lulu… What do you say?"

My heart started to pound, almost like it was when I did those laps in gym. A bead a sweat came down my neck, while I still tried to find some words. I could only come up with one, "Why?"

She took some time herself to come up with an answer, "Why…? I… I don't know why. That's how love works though, isn't it? We're not supposed to understand it."

Love. That one word made me shudder and I moved my hand over my forehead; more sweat coming off. This makes no sense, why am I reacting this way? "I don't get it…"

"What don't you get, Lulu?" Shirley put her hand on mine.

I pulled my hand away immediately, "Don't touch me!" I roared. Shirley had a shocked expression, pulling her hand back to her mouth, "I-I'm sorry. I don't…" I couldn't find the words to finish my sentence.

She then smiled softly, "Shh… It's okay Lulu." She moved over and hugged me. Contrary to my last outburst, I let her do it. I even half hugged back, my arms sort of moved around her, not quite wrapping around her per se, but good enough I guess. She buried her head in my chest and purred. Oh lord, she **purred **like a cat to me. I froze up, literally unable to say or do anything. I didn't even know why I allowed her to hug me in the first place. Something felt off. I didn't love her, so why was I letting this happen?

I panicked, and a jolt burst through me. I pushed her off of me, and the resulting force sent me flying over the balcony backward, head first. Damn you, Newton. I felt the weightlessness in my stomach, and heard Shirley's shriek, all the while my eyes scanning the blue sky around me. After falling two stories down, I hit the awning, landing on my head at an angle. I screamed in pain, bouncing, and the second time I landed hard on my left shoulder, following the angle of the awning downward to the ground.

I closed my eyes, and I waited for the inevitable smack against the pavement. It never came, but instead it was replaced by a soft catch. Someone had their arms around my back and legs. I forced my eyes open, and though the image remained blurry, I made out an unmistakable characteristic. Long green hair, "…C.C…?"

That sparked a reaction, "H-how do you know my sister?"

I smiled; it looks like it was the second possibility after all. That smile vanished quickly, replaced by a look of pain as I groaned, "You're the one…" I coughed, "…I saw the other day…"

She said nothing. My eyes slowly came to a close as I drifted out of consciousness. Damn… I knew it'd be one helluva day.

**Author's Note:**

Well, I made a new story that I actually plan to continue. Somewhat infrequently, so don't expect updates to often. The two versions of C.C. I'm using are her normal self and herself when she lost her memories. I don't know why, but I really liked that C.C., so I decided I'd write a story about 'em. Not really too humorous of a story, just thought I'd add that tag because I don't really want it to be seen as a full romance story. I don't really want to make it all mushy gushy. Really long chapter, I know, I actually intended it to be two, but I'm lazy. Only had the attention span to check this once, probably could've been improved a lot. Anyway, enjoy.


	2. Chapter 2

"I can't do this…"

"Yes you can."

"You don't get it; I'm not as smart or beautiful as you. I just can't…"

My sister tried not to laugh, which only made me feel worse, "We're twins. Anything one of us does, the other can as well," She put her hand on my cheek, I looked down meekly. "Celia. You can do this, we'll be in the same classes and I'm sure we'll both be able to make friends. You're not all alone."

I shook my head, "I know that but…I... What if I don't fit in?"

"You will. Don't worry about the 'what ifs.'" She smiled gently and lightly bushed my bangs off to the side.

"There's nothing to fear."

"I know I know I know I know… It's just…"

Sensing my trouble, she leaned in and hugged me softly. I heard her singing a tune, a lullaby from long ago. _"Tue rei ze croa riou tue ze, __Croa riou ze tue riou rei neu riou ze__, __Va rei ze tue neu tue riou tue croa, Riou rei croa riou ze rei va ze rei__…" _To be honest, neither of us knew what the lyrics meant, or even what language they were. But the melody never ceased to soothe us. After an aching silence that followed the song, my sister spoke up, "Let's go, I'll be there with you."

I nodded, and we decided to go off to Ashford Academy. We headed off to the school grounds, Uncle Jeremiah in tow, presumably to watch over us. We'd heard from our last visit that the school festival would come soon and decided to see everything in action. C.C. insisted that we both wear our new school uniforms, so that we'd blend in better. I almost laughed when she told me that. How can two girls with green hair blend in? I clung unconsciously to my sister's arm along the way there. By now I think she was used to it, so she didn't say anything.

When we visited the school grounds the other day, I got lost. I searched around for a long time, but couldn't find Jeremiah or C.C. I assumed all the students to be in class, so that saved me from having to explain myself to anyone. Or so I thought. I was around the gymnasium looking, when I spotted a boy with jet black hair about to come up to me. I panicked and ran away, and something about the way he strode up frightened me. Thankfully I ran into my sister and explained what happened. She gave me one of her smiles and calmed me down, just like she did today. I really wish I wasn't so shy, so unsure of myself. Every time I'm with someone new, I freeze up, get self-conscious, and most of the time, I can't handle it. As a result, C.C. is my unofficial spokesperson.

To be honest, my sister depresses me a little. She's always so confident, so sure of herself, and I would think that after all this time together, that maybe some of that would have rubbed off on me. But no; here I am, weak, scared, and powerless. I don't even understand it myself, the reason why I'm so…afraid. It may have something to do with the time before my sister and I were found by the Gottwalds. I shut my eyes. No, I don't want to recall that.

Up until this point we'd been home schooled, but Uncle Jeremiah came up with the idea of sending us both off to a real school. My sister agreed as soon as possible, and I didn't want to remain home without her, so I agreed, albeit somewhat reluctantly. I know the underlying reason why they went along with this idea; it was to try to get me out of my shell. Uncle Jeremiah wanted to improve my people skills, and even if I didn't accept, I bet they'd both coax me into it. While I am unsure of myself, I secretly hope this will work. I want to be stronger, more able to talk with others more than anything.

After a quick walk from the Gottwald estate, we made it to Ashford Academy. The large, daunting gates loomed over us, and I took a step back, a cold shiver running up my spine. But my sister grabbed my hand, gave me a smile, and I willingly walked in with her.

Jeremiah was our caretaker, and his older brother took us in when we were young. Mr. Gottwald was very kind to us, and one of the few people I truly opened up to aside from my sister. He contracted a fatal disease a couple years ago and passed away, and ever since then, Jeremiah became our guardian. I'm glad, because I truly did like the Gottwalds, they're nice people. Mr. Gottwald was the first person who ever felt like a father to me. Not everyone has a heart big enough to take in two orphaned children and act so lovingly toward them. Jeremiah spent a lot of time with us growing up too, and didn't want to see us leave when his brother died. They're both really friendly.

As we passed through the gates I vaguely heard a P.A. system, a voice on it proclaiming, "—and with the next sound, let the festival begin!" We paused as someone yelled out, 'meow', over the P.A. We exchanged confused glances, soon shrugging it off and walking inside. We strolled to the front of the school, past all the stalls as Jeremiah suggested we start from the back and move forward. The both of us agreed and were just about to start when the P.A. sounded again. It was the same bubbly voice from the first broadcast, "Would all members of the student council please go wait outside the student council room, thank you!"

Once again, we exchanged dumbfounded looks before continuing on. Almost immediately however, Jeremiah needed to leave to finalize some paperwork to do with our enrollment, so my sister and I chose to sit at a bench nearby until some stalls opened up. "Ashford truly is a strange place," my sister noted.

I nodded, "Yes, especially that girl on the P.A., the one who did that cat meow. I know we've never been to a school festival before, but I don't think that's how they usually start…"

We sat around and made small talk for a few minutes before I saw something approaching. Immediately I rushed behind a nearby stall. "What's wrong?" She sounded worried.

Shakily, I pointed off down the aisle, to a boy wearing the male student uniform; he had spiky black hair, and deep, piercing violet eyes. "He's…He's the one who saw me the other day…"

"Is that so?" From there, she simply sat in silence, looking at neither me, nor the black haired boy. I made sure to keep myself well hidden, but still able to see what was going on. Despite my sister looking away from him, she kept her peripherals trained on him the entire time, I could tell. When he gave her a strange look from the corner of his eyes, she reacted. C.C. gave him a mocking smirk, immediately making the boy flushed, or somewhat annoyed. After he was gone from sight, I snuck back beside her. "He's nothing special," she remarked.

"What do you mean?" C.C.'s statement sounded…weird.

"It's easy to see what makes him tick. I can read him like a book. He wouldn't do anything to harm you at all."

My sister had a talent for pegging people down to the core of their essences. One look, one conversation, sometimes even just a picture, and she gathers their entire personalities and mannerisms. I don't know how she perfected this art, but it does come in handy. "He looked pretty angry to me…"

My sister sighed, "He's the kind of person that keeps to himself, and loves to run his own show. When others come into the equation, he'll get frustrated, unable to effectively cope. Those types of people typically lead very solitary lives."

I never could figure out how she formed such a sophisticated breakdown. We chatted for a good deal of time afterward, just sitting on that bench before we caught sight of—something. We saw a bunch of people dressed as cats, and smack dab in the middle was that blacked haired boy, struggling against the grip of the two other male cats (erm, cat people), beside him.

The girl leading the precession looked very eccentric, not to mention revealing. I noticed many guys ogling over her, and I have to say, if I was a guy, I would too. The black suit looked skin-tight, accentuating her curves well. Her bust was probably the size of my sister's and mine combined, and medium-long blonde hair shimmered in the sunlight. She truly looked beautif—

"Hello?" My sister poked me.

My heart skipped a beat, blood rushing to my face, "Oh, I'm sorry, what did you say?"

She simply smiled in response, and I figured out what she meant. The group was getting very close and I hadn't even so much as tensed up. My nerves got the better of me, and I rushed behind the bench out of sight. Something about that black haired boy unnerved me.

Several moments later I heard my sister's voice, "They're gone, don't worry," she pulled me up.

"Sorry about that…" I felt my face turn red, feeling embarrassed for hiding when I knew nothing was going to happen. I shifted my gaze to the ground, upset by my weakness. Then my sister used her finger to lift my chin up, giving me a look that read, _it's okay._ I steeled myself as much as possible, regaining my composure with surprising speed.

My sister gave a slight nod in the direction they trailed off in. I peeked over and couldn't help but smile. The black haired boy was climbing up into a dunk tank, reluctantly. He sat on it with his legs crossed, a gaze of sheer annoyance plastered across his face. We both laughed as he fell in about three times to the other cat people.

After some time my sister spoke up, "Why don't you go up and talk to him?"

I shook my head vigorously, "No. I can't."

"Oh come on, I've known you my whole life, and I know you can do it."

I wouldn't budge, "No. I won't do it." I pouted and turned the other way. I knew when I was in this mode; my sister wouldn't try to make me do it.

"Well, what if I went up to him?" She suggested. I gave a confused glance, "and after I have a conversation with him, you can go and talk to him later."

I considered it, but my sister can talk with anyone easily. I know we're twins, and anything one can do, the other should be able to as well. But the key word in that sentence is 'should.' Knowing her, this would be the most generous offer given today. She really is determined to get me to talk to him. After a suitable silence, I conceded, "…Fine."

She stood up immediately, and moseyed on over. I didn't expect her to move so quickly. With about the same speed, I rushed to a hiding spot where I could spy on them easily. Unfortunately however, it was just out of earshot. I witnessed C.C. talking effortlessly to the boy, causing him some grief judging from his expressions. She then picked up a ball, tossing it easily to the target. C.C. was always the more athletic of the two of us, but that's not to say I'm not athletic myself. I'm a pretty fast runner, and that's about the only physical skill where we're evenly matched. I then spied a brown haired boy, one of the ones who dragged him to the tank, stride up. As quickly as she rolled up to the stand, she vanished, and by the time I looked over, she was sitting back at the bench. I silently moved back.

Not wasting any time, she explained, "His name is Lelouch, and he's one of the student council. Not by choice apparently. He's simple to talk to, don't worry about it."

I didn't quite like how she was making this into a game, but then again, there's not much I can do about it. "Okay…"

"Now you go up to him."

I felt my face light up red, "I-I can't!"

We both looked over and saw him and the chestnut haired boy shift places. My sister read the atmosphere and reconsidered, "Alright, then later we'll seek him out. You will talk to him by the end of the day."

I didn't understand why she was so adamant about this. I know one reason was to break me out of my shell, but her persistence didn't add up right. I also knew she wouldn't give me a straight answer if I asked, so I gave her a look that read: _Really?_

She didn't feel the need to respond. Lelouch then sat by the chestnut haired boy, and the two conversed for awhile. We concluded that after we prowl around the fairgrounds I'd talk with him. The games and events were all really cheesy, but to me, it added to the charm of the whole thing. I laughed and smiled more than I had in long time. We roamed around for a couple hours, and despite my sister's emotionless face, I could sense her enjoyment.

I noticed occasionally C.C.'s gaze shift off to a girl we passed a couple times. She was one of the few dressed in cat outfits, had bright orange hair tied up into two, neat pigtails. Since the student council was the ones dressed as cats, I guess she probably knows Lelouch. I could've sworn I heard her mumble something as we passed, but I didn't hear it nor did I care. My sister probably made sense of it though.

Surprisingly, we didn't run into Lelouch once. Good for me, since if I couldn't find him; I wouldn't have to talk to him as soon. I looked to the right, and as if the world read my thoughts, I spotted Lelouch with his posse: A girl who looked very regal, almost like royalty, with long flowing pink hair, a small girl with wavy brown hair, and the ruffled chestnut haired boy. The smile he was giving to the small girl was genuine and soft, and it eased my tension a little. Maybe C.C. was right, that he's not so tough after all. After exchanging some glances with my sister, we strode up by the entrance of the school building.

My sister looked to the roof, and I followed her gaze. To my surprise, there was that orange-haired girl we ran into earlier. Lelouch was passing through to the door. My sis grabbed my arm and dragged me behind a pillar, though I'm sure he could see me while walking through. "What are you doing?"

She returned her attention to me, "He's going to meet that girl on the roof." I raised an eyebrow, but let her finish. "Wait here for him to come down. He'll be in more of a state to talk to you then."

I nodded, "Okay…"

"Now then, I'm going to go find Jeremiah, I thought he'd be finished with his business by now. Stay here, because you know what will happen if you leave," She gave me a mischievous look, not quite a grin or a smirk, but not really anything else either.

I sighed, and nodded again.

"Good," she paused, "And Celia…?"

"Yes?" Her tone sounded a little odd.

"…Never mind," She trailed off, leaving me by myself behind the pillar.

I didn't even have time to look before she vanished. C.C. was always good at disappearing and reappearing acts. Half the time I never know where she goes, and when we were younger, I often thought she used portals. I giggled, reminiscing those days, back when Mr. Gottwald took care of us. Back then my sis and I weren't so different from one another. She was always the one who protected the two of us, and I always cowered in the corner while she covered for me. But other than that, we could be mistaken for one another easily. The only one to ever be able to perfectly tell the difference between the two of us was Mr. Gottwald. Constantly we'd get in trouble, hiding from the maids and butlers, and sometimes my sister would take the fall for something I'd done. But it never got passed Mr. Gottwald. Once my sister finished her punishment in my stead, he would always tell her to stop doting on me. But she never listened, and I always thought the lesson to be one never learnt.

I shook my head, trying to move back to the present. I looked up to the roof, seeing Lelouch and that girl up at the top by the railing. Lelouch was leaning on the railing, but I couldn't make out much else. Out of nowhere he yelled, and pulled away from her, though the noise was indistinguishable from the pitter-patter of the festival. I raised an eyebrow again. This Lelouch is a very complex man. I don't know how my sis could read him so easily. I watched the girl wrap herself around him in a hug, and my heart jumped. I…I can't explain why it did that. A cold shiver jolted through me, but I ignored it and kept watching.

My eyes flew wide open, fixed in horror at the scene unfurling. Lelouch was falling off the side of the building. My muscles tensed, and I ran. I felt time slow down, yet the scenery was a blur around me, the noises meshing into one concrete hodgepodge. I rushed over to about where he'd fall, consciously aware of each individual step I made. Left, to right, left to right. From his trajectory I could tell that first he would fall onto the awning, and then roll off to the ground. A loud clang and a terrible crunching noise pierced my thoughts. Lelouch just hit the awning. I raced as fast as I could, and now his body was in sight above. I caught sight of his body en route to the cold hard cement. I barely made it in time, and with one last step, I leaped, threw out my arms and caught him just a couple feet from the ground.

The force of the drop pulled my body down, and I knelt. My first instinct was to ask if he was alright, but my mouth was frozen. I couldn't say anything. I could only stare at him, and the blood seeping out of his temples. His arm dangled from his body at an unnatural angle, and I felt…afraid. After another moment, he groggily opened his eyes, "…C.C…?"

As if I forgot what happened earlier today, I asked absentmindedly, "H-how do you know my sister?"

He smiled; a strange sight among the blood and bruises. The look quickly vanished, "You're the one…" he coughed, "I saw the other day…"

I tried to reply, but no words came to my mouth. Instead I heard him exhale and his body went limp. Another cold shiver surged through me, and that's when I started yelling for help. I fell down further, letting his body rest on the ground while I gripped on to his torso.

I saw the Chestnut haired boy rush up to me, eyes transfixed on the body in my arms, "Lelouch!"

"I-I saw him fall from the roof…" I sniffed, tears forming, "H-he hit the awning there… But I caught him before he hit the ground."

The boy gave an understanding look at me and put a hand on my shoulder, "It's gonna be alright, don't worry."

I heard the click of a cell phone and cocked my head to the side, my sister standing beside me. "I just called an ambulance, they'll be here soon."

The boy regarded her with a confused glance before nodding, "And you two are…?"

She answered for me, "My name is C.C., and this is my sister, Celia."

"My name is Suzaku," He glanced over at the two others rushing past the newly formed crowd. I recognized them as the two from earlier, the pink and brown haired girls. Both had tears brimming from their eyes, staring at Lelouch. Suzaku then ripped up his sleeves suddenly and knelt down next to me, "Let's try to slow down the bleeding." He tied down the ends across Lelouch's head, staining the black sleeves an even deeper shade of black.

"I-is he going to be alright?" I asked. I know I just met him and everything, but still, to have someone die in your arms…

I shuddered.

The orange haired girl rushed up to the scene, followed by the others dressed as cats. I heard her mutter, "Lulu…?" She began to tear up, "T-this is all my fault…" She buried her face in her hands. I felt my gaze soften.

Suzaku's demeanor made a 180, "What do you mean?" When he got no response, he added, "What the hell happened, Shirley?" Still nothing, "Shirley!"

Shirley moved her hands away, startled, but said nothing. She fought back tears, but couldn't stop them.

"Damn it!" He punched the ground, obviously upset at the turn of events.

"Celia," my sis spoke up, "Are you alright?"

I tried to choke out a few words, but a disgruntled cough came out. Instead, I just nodded.

The next couple of minutes felt even more hectic than the insanity I just endured. The EMS came, pried Lelouch from my grip, and in the ensuing chaos, my sister and I slipped away. I saw Suzaku interrogating Shirley and the other two girls trying to comfort her and slow Suzaku. The pandemonium piqued the interest of the entire festival, or so it seemed as everyone rushed forward. But at the moment, all I wanted to do was get away.

My sister held me as we, Jeremiah included, scrambled away from the mess. I don't know when he got there, but I was glad to be going home. I recall Jeremiah asking me if I was alright several times, to which I gave him vague nods and my sister eventually prodded him to stop. The moments all meshed into one, and before I even knew what happened, I home again in my room with C.C.

The big beige walls loomed over us both, light slowly fading from the window. We both sat on separate couches across from a coffee table in the middle of the room. It almost felt like a mirror, except one of us had perfect composure, and the other was about to break down.

We sat in silence for a long time, my arms gripped tightly around my knees. My eyes drifted toward my sleeve, and I finally realized how much blood seeped onto my clothes. How much of _Lelouch's _blood was on me. I felt like screaming, cowering, or crying even. But I didn't, all I did was stand up, remove my uniform, and put it with the rest of the clothes to be washed. My sister observed all of this without a word. She knew how traumatizing an incident like that could be. We both knew it first-hand.

My muscles finally relaxed, and I felt like collapsing onto the couch. I half expected her to hug me or something, but nothing happened. "I'm going to take a shower," I announced.

My sister waited until I reached the bathroom door before she replied, not even looking at me, "So you talked to him after all."

I shut the door behind me and sunk away into a long, warm shower.

**Author's Note**

I'm pretty surprised I chugged this out as quickly as I did. I've been out on vacation the past two weeks, and I'm still actually away from home, yet still writing. I like doing stories from mutliple vantage points, and so I'll revolve this one around Lelouch and Celia. They'll be my two main narrators. I was thinking about C.C., but the way I see it, she always has too much on her mind to write into thoughts.

Also, don't expect me to overlap this much in different chapters. I just wanted to give Celia a proper introduction. From here on out any overlapping will be miniscule. I don't want to write two separate stories with the same plot.

And to remedy the fears of those who reviewed, no, this won't be a LuluxShirley story, but I like adding me some drama, so that's what she's there for. :3 I'll try to move the plot along a bit faster now that introductions are done. Enjoy. I may revise the latter half of this chapter eventually, not fully happy with it. This story was proof-read a grand total of 1.5 times.

Also, free cookie to anyone who can figure out what the song was in the beginning with the random lyrics. It is from something, I promise you.


	3. Chapter 3

_Lelouch_

Waking up in a hospital bed is a rare experience, one that, frankly, I can do without. As I rose to sit, a nice rhythmic pounding struck my head like a pair of snare drums. I tried to recall what happened, but I suppose after falling off a building, some details become a tad fuzzy. I need more rest to piece things together. My head was killing me…

I glanced over to my left, finding both my sisters fast asleep. Nunnally leaned on Euphy's shoulder, and Euphy rested her head on Nunnally's. They looked like the perfect pair of sisters, sleeping together like that. I tried to reach over to Nunnally, but my arm jerked back in pain. No, it wasn't my arm, more so than my shoulder. I felt like I got hit by a train or something, the pain felt unbearable.

That's when everything hit me, and then the details finally flowed back. Shirley…The roof…And what was that last part? Something was slipping out of my mind, but the pertinent details remained. That's right; I fell off the roof after talking with Shirley. It happened in a rather…undignified manner, so I'll leave that detail between the two of us unless it can't be avoided. I hit my head I remember, and then I rolled off toward the ground.

I moved my hand to my head, bandages thoroughly encased around my temples. I turned to my left shoulder, finding a cast and more gauze around it. I tried moving it again, but cringed as it wouldn't move comfortably. I needed to know what happened while I was out, yet seeing Nunnally and Euphy so peaceful like this made me reconsider waking them. I decided on a subtle approach, and with my right hand, I leaned over and moved Nunnally's bangs out of her face. I touched her forehead in the process, and that was enough to stir her.

She sleepily brought her arm up to rub her eyes. When her bright blue ovals caught sight of me, her face lit up. She lightly shook Euphy, and I watched her face shift from shock to relief. Nunnally immediately bent over and hugged me. With my good arm I returned the hug. "You're okay!" She beamed.

"It'll take more than a little fall to keep me down," I said coolly.

She kept hugging me until I thought my back would give out before Euphy finally spoke up. "Stupid…Don't worry me like that." She had a hard time expressing her concern.

"I'm sorry to have worried you both, but I'm fine now," I gave her one of my rare, sincere smiles. It seemed to ease them both.

"What happened, Lelouch?" Nunnally moved back to her seat after successfully cracking my back.

If she had to ask, that would mean Shirley didn't tell the story. For good reason no doubt. As much as I wanted to tell the truth, there was a part of me that felt embarrassed over what happened. But I can't lie to my sister, and especially not when they're both staring at me with those pleading, worried eyes. "…I…" My eyes switched to the wall, "pushed myself off."

I didn't need to see their bewilderment. "You… pushed yourself off?" Euphy confirmed.

I nodded, "It isn't Shirley's fault, so don't hold her accountable."

Taking a hint, neither one questioned further. I expect they'll interrogate me soon enough, "Well, whatever the case, we're glad you're alright." Euphy added.

"Thanks you two," It felt good to be cared for, but the awkwardness of it all set in rather quick. I changed the subject, "How long have you two been here?"

Nunnally opened up her cell phone, "It's…11:42 right now, so we've been here about six or seven hours. We rode in the ambulance with you. The doctor told us he didn't even know when you'd wake up. We were really scared."

I felt my features relax more, "Then why don't you both go home for now, I'm sure you're both tired. Don't worry yourselves over me," I tried to scold them, but I didn't have enough energy to put any emphasis into my voice.

Euphy smiled, and it's something I missed after witnessing her rage the past couple of days, "We're your sisters. We're supposed to worry when our stupid brother falls off a building."

Nunnally smiled and agreed, "Yes, you can't get rid of us that easily."

I sighed, "I'm not trying to get rid of you, I'm just trying to look after you," I craned my neck, not realizing just how stiff it really was, "I'm alright, so you two can visit me again tomorrow. Go home. Get some sleep. Okay?"

They both looked reluctant to leave, but with another couple pushes, I got them to go. "We'll both be back first thing in the morning, okay big brother?"

"See you then, good night."

I waited until they both walked out and were well down the hall before lying back down. My muscles severely ached and were in desperate need of rest. I didn't need to be a doctor to understand that. Before drifting off to sleep, my mind wandered a little. I wondered how Suzaku, Shirley, heck, even the president were doing. I wondered if they were as worried as Euphy and Nunnally had been. Judging from the bandages on my head, there must have been a lot of blood. I pictured it, blood scattered all across the pavement where my body lay, stiff, and motionless. That fall could've killed me. Wait a minute… I didn't hit the pavement, someone caught me.

I turned over.

C.C. caught me. The girl I met earlier in the day. No wait, I remember…For a flicker of an instant I saw her before passing out, it wasn't C.C. that caught me. Her sister did, they must be twins. C.C. was the bold one while the one who caught me was more timid, shy. She seemed vulnerable and weak, not the type to jump out and catch someone falling off a building, and something about her sister seemed off. Mysterious even. She was hiding something, masking her personality. I shook my head, no good. I had too little to work with to make any sort of assumptions.

I almost laughed, what am I doing? Trying to solve the mystery of the transfer twins? Why should I even worry myself about them? Although I probably should thank the one who caught me… But other than that, they're nothing to me.

I shoved all those thoughts away and let myself drift into a peaceful slumber; a slumber that was rudely interrupted by a certain brown haired numbskull several hours later.

"…Lelouch."

"…Go away," I turned over. Even with my eyes closed I could feel the warmth and light of the sun piercing through the window.

"You're not fooling anyone, I know you're awake."

"Just because I'm awake doesn't mean I'll talk," That prompted a sharp stab in my side. I tensed and jumped a little, finally facing my annoying best friend. "You didn't have to poke me like that."

Suzaku looked skeptic, "Because you definitely would've gotten up on your own."

As laced with sarcasm as ever. "To what do I owe this pleasure?" I gave him a mocking smile.

"You should already know."

I leaned on my fist and stared in his eyes, "You want to know what happened," He nodded, "It's not that much of a story, but I'll tell you anyway." I left a dramatic pause, enough to see his eyes grow with curiosity, "I pushed myself off."

An eerie silence loomed over us, shattered by Suzaku, "You…pushed yourself off?" The same words Euphy used.

I nodded.

"Off the side off a four story building?"

I nodded.

"Shirley wasn't at fault at all?"

I nodded.

"Is that all you have to say?" I started to nod again, but Suzaku interrupted, "That's not what I mean, Lelouch. You're not giving me the full story."

"And what makes you think I need to give it to you?"

"Because I'm your friend, and I'm worried about you," It was the same excuse that Euphy gave me the night before. Those two really are on the same wavelength…

I scowled, knowing the fault in my argument. It's not like me to lose, especially to such simple tactics, but I guess that's what makes Suzaku and Euphy both my greatest enemies. It's their simplicity. Reluctantly, I recounted the tale, sparing only the detail of my overreaction to Shirley touching me. He nodded appropriately and understood my actions. Once I finished, he spoke up, "Alright. I needed to know what happened. Shirley wouldn't say a word, and the police threatened to get involved."

The thought of Shirley going to jail flickered in my mind, "She's not at fault. It was all my doing."

"I know, but no one else does at the moment. As of now, Shirley is safe at home, but the police think that she pushed you off. She could be taken into custody at any time."

My frown deepened, "Bring an officer here. There will be no charges pressed. She didn't do anything wrong."

Suzaku gave me an awkward smile, he was about to reveal something, "About that…" he laughed nervously, pulling out a device embedded in his shirt.

My eyes widened, I understood it instantly, "You bastard, Suzaku. You tapped the conversation?"

"Don't look at me like that, only Cornelia will hear it, then it'll be disposed off. She knows you wouldn't lie to me."

Cornelia: My older sister. Half-sister. She was the current chief of police in the area, and as such works away from home often. Cornelia always dotes on Euphy much the same way I do on Nunnally. While Euphy is my half-sister as well, I treat her like full-fledged blood, but I could never bring myself to fully accept her older sister.

My family is strange in that my father had a previous marriage and a mistress before deciding on my mother. Because of this fact, we're often estranged from one another, and as a result I have roughly seven or eight half siblings. I haven't had the 'pleasure' of meeting them all. Nunnally is my only full blooded sibling. I often categorize them all into three categories: livable, tolerable, and unknown. In the livable category I place Euphy and Nunnally, since I'm the closest to them. Under tolerable I put Cornelia, Clovis, and Odysseus. Cornelia may be stern and hard-headed, but I know she wouldn't want to harm me. Clovis is too into himself to care about anything but art and beauty, while Odysseus is an ignorant fool. Finally that leaves the last category, unknown. Only one person resides in that category, and that would be my eldest sibling, Schniezel. He's devious, cunning, and whenever he appears, so does a whirlwind of trouble. I never know what he's up to.

I suppose even if Cornelia knew, she wouldn't tell anyone. There'd be nothing to gain, and I would make sure the tape is finished myself after she hears it. But just to be sure… "Hmm, and I wonder how Cornelia will take the news that her darling little sister is dating a scoundrel like you."

The color drained from Suzaku's usually cheerful face, "You wouldn't."

"I would."

We stared in each other's eyes for a few minutes, testing our resolves. Neither of us would budge. "She needs to find out eventually."

"And we'll do it our own way."

"Whatever you say, Suzaku, just make sure that tape is gone immediately after Cornelia hears it."

He gritted his teeth and agreed, "Alright, it's a deal then," A silent, but understood agreement. Suzaku stuck around for a while longer, and we both joked and laughed together, just like old times, lifting the serious mood with ease. Milly and Rivalz came later, wishing me well and the usual. Even Gino and Anya came in and dropped off a few flowers. Anya's expressionless eyes sifted around through the room, and I almost felt like she knew what happened because I could see the slightest of smiles on her lips as she turned and exited. It was around noon before Euphy and Nunnally came back, and they came with good news. The doctor said my wounds weren't as extensive as originally thought, and that I'd be released from the hospital Sunday evening, in two days. We were all rejoicing and celebrating when a certain tall, dark figure strode into the room.

Her long, purple hair swished from side to side with every step, a stark glare habitually spread across her face. Her garb was completely white, with a pumped up collar that made her appearance all the more intimidating. The mood died down with her entrance, "Cornelia." I expected her appearance at some point.

"Lelouch," She stated rather plainly. Her expression shifted to an amused variant witnessing me in this state. She then noticed Euphy, and suddenly smiled. It looked about as natural as a whale doing a cartwheel. I thought about remarking about the tape she planted on Suzaku, but chose against it. If I mentioned it now, then she would think I knew of it all along. "Both Schniezel and Clovis send their regards for your injuries."

I didn't care, "You heard from them and not my mother?"

"As usual, your mother and father are…difficult to reach. For them, news travels slowly."

Understandable, as they seldom keep up with us, "That doesn't explain why you're here."

"I actually have some business with Suzaku," She motioned at him to come outside the room.

No one seemed too shocked except for Euphy, "I'll be back later, don't worry about it," Suzaku reassured us, more so Euphy rather than the rest of us.

After the both of them left the room, Euphy's bundle of nerves popped. "Did she find out too? I thought we were being careful…"

"She didn't find out, she most likely wants to talk to Suzaku for a witness report or something. He was one of the first ones to the scene after all," Not quite a lie, like I said, I can't lie to my two little sisters.

She accepted the explanation, yet still remained a bit skeptic. "I'll talk with him later to be sure…" We all knew what would happen once Cornelia found out about their relation, a fury of questions, hounding and background checks. Hell, Suzaku might get his own personal assassin trained on him. That's why my threat earlier worked so well. She'd do anything to protect her precious little sister.

After some time and a bit of coaxing, I got both Nunnally and Euphy to go home. I felt like I was going to explode sitting down for so long. After a bit of arguing from a nurse, she agreed to let me walk around the hospital a bit. I needed some exercise.

I felt several cracks as I moved out of the bed. I leaned back and up, feeling everything loosen up, if only a little. A dreary white room with a small TV hung in front of my bed that had definitely seen better days. When I turned the small brass knob, I didn't find much better. A boring white deserted hallway checkered with a couple others in long white gowns being wheeled about. Wishing I had pockets to throw my hands in, I slowly crept across the hallway. I did a lap around the floor before going around to the stairs; I wanted to take a look at the lobby.

Of course, there wasn't much to look at. The only three things not colored white where the hard wooden receptionist desk, the leafy potted plant in the corner, and the stale blue couch that accompanied a long line of patients or visitors. Finding nothing of interest, I walked back to my room, where I let sleep overcome me once again, and I lazed through the next two days. Sunday came, and the routine continued, people visited, we all made small talk, and eventually they all left. The doctors told me by four I could be picked up, and that after that I was to replace my bandages twice a day for two weeks. They took off the cast on my arm, but the pain still lingered. When I finally made it home to the dorm room, I felt relieved. No more drab, boring white walls staring at me all day and night. I swear, people in the hospitals for extended stays must go stir crazy. I hated it in there. Euphy and Nunnally seemed just as happy that I was home again, safe and sound.

While we sat around the dinner table I noticed Nunnally shifting about uncomfortably. I remembered that I promised to take her out today, before the whole falling incident. I smiled wryly, and told her, "Next week I'll take you out to the mall, okay, Nunnally?"

Her demeanor changed immediately, "Really? You mean it?" That look on her face really was cute.

"Of course," I returned the smile, minus the cuteness.

Euphy interjected, "and what about me?"

"I hope you aren't relying on me for money."

"You're a terrible brother," She pouted like a diva, but I could tell she wasn't serious anyway.

"I take it you'd like me to bring Suzaku along?"

To this she dropped her façade, "R-really?"

"We'll even let you two go off on your own," I trusted Suzaku not to do anything too stupid, that's why he's my best friend.

Her grin ran from ear to ear, "Yay!" She smiled like a little girl who got just what she wanted for her birthday. I saw that smile too often on Nunnally. Sometimes I feel like I get drunk off of it, but then again, it might just be me. It's an infectious smile, and it always makes me smile along as well.

I really am too soft.

xxxxxx

_Celia_

The first night after catching Lelouch I was still really shaken, and in the middle of the night, I crawled into my sister's bed. I was scared, and my thoughts kept moving back to all the blood and the crack I heard when he hit the awning. I felt a little bit childish, but my sister understood. When she felt me poking around, C.C. smiled gently and said, "Can't sleep?"

I nodded, sinking down into her covers. From there she put her arm around me and pulled me close. I listened to the steady rhythm of her heartbeat, and her soft breathing up against my ears. I always relied on her when I was down. I couldn't help it, just her presence alone calmed my nerves. I nuzzled into her chest, my eyes drooping closed. I felt much more at peace falling asleep next to C.C. She's the only one left that I really love. Jeremiah's nice, but I wouldn't say I love him per se.

We received a surprise visitor the next day, the chief of police, Cornelia. She waltzed in elegantly, her long, purple hair draped across her back without any restraint. When I saw her in the entrance hall, I thought she looked like more of an aristocrat rather than a cop. Predictably she asked, "I need to speak with a Ms. Celia Gottwald."

I raised my hand meekly, and Cornelia nodded. My sister jumped in, "Shall we take this discussion to the parlor?"

The three of us cruised over to the parlor, my sister and I sitting on a large leather maroon couch. I hated this couch because it felt like plastic, and Cornelia got the nice soft wool green armchair. I hid my brief jealousy as she immediately got to business, "About what happened last Thursday, what did you see? Both of you."

I kept quiet, letting my sister answer first, "I didn't see much. At the time I was trying to find our father."

Calling Jeremiah our father is a bit of an overstatement, but it's easier than calling him our adoptive guardian.

"It's my understanding that Celia caught Lelouch after he fell off the building," She confirmed, "So I need you to tell me what happened." She moved her purple ovals to my gold ones.

That was definitely not the right word choice, because as soon as she said that, all the bloody memories rushed back to me. I made a small whimper, barely audible, but they both heard it. With that, Cornelia's harsh glare weakened, and she was about to talk again when my sister hushed her. Slowly, I searched for the words I needed, "I was standing just outside the school building…" I paused, thinking of how I should phrase the next part, "I saw Lelouch on the roof talking with some girl. I saw… The girl, Shirley I think her name was, hug him," I recalled him falling off, and my extraordinary dash, "That's when I saw him fall. I didn't see how he fell, but it didn't really look like the girl pushed him. From there, I ran and caught him."

Cornelia sat there contemplating for a moment, eyes closed. "No other details stick out?"

I shook my head.

"Is that all you need?" My sister asserted.

"Yes, I think that will do. I'm going to visit Lelouch at the hospital; my sister told me he's awake now."

My sister and I were stuck on different parts of what she just said.

"Your sister?"

"He's awake?"

We looked at each other, but I'm not sure why C.C. was curious about Cornelia's sister. "To answer both of your questions: Yes, Lelouch is awake, and my sister, Euphemia and I are both Lelouch's siblings. She visited him at the hospital the other night."

"You're Lelouch's sister?" The idea seemed incredulous. The only similarities I saw were the commanding aura surrounding them both, and their outwardly serious nature.

"I'm only his half-sister and he never lets me forget it," She sounded distant, slouching slightly. Almost instantly she resumed her perfect posture. I'm going to visit him in the hospital, so would you two like to accompany me?"

It was a nice offer from the police chief, but I wasn't exactly itching to see him after the state he was in yesterday. My sister understood and replied for me, "Thank you for the offer, but we'll stay here. We aren't quite Lelouch's friends, so we have no reason to visit him."

"Well, if it's not too much to ask, could you try to get along with him? Lelouch isn't the most sociable of people, and occasionally I worry for him," She sounded genuinely concerned, but it almost contradicted what she said earlier. It sounded almost like Lelouch hates her, yet she's concerned for him.

C.C. answered for the both of us, "We'll do our best."

"Right… Goodbye then." She stood up, shook both our hands and rushed out the door.

Jeremiah met us in the entrance hall, "How did it go?"

"She didn't interrogate her as much as I expected," My sister explained, and I heard her murmur under her breath, "Too soft to be a police chief."

"Apparently she's Lelouch's sister," I added.

"She is? I thought she only had her little sister, Euphemia," Jeremiah's job always remained shrouded in mystery to the both of us, and I always thought of his work as spying since he had such a big compendium of information. Sometimes Cornelia came over, but always on business, so she never really regarded us until today. Cornelia seemed friendlier than I originally thought, because whenever she came in she was always serious and to the point. I don't get why my sis called her soft.

"What about their parents?" I asked, because Cornelia said she was only his half-sister.

"I know of Charles and Marianne, and that they are both important politicians, but they keep their private life well hidden. You would have to ask someone in the family for more details," he told us.

From there we both excused ourselves and returned to the daily routine. The next day thankfully went by quickly, and with much less drama. Our first day of school began the following Monday. My sister and I enrolled in the same class, and our homeroom teacher is Ms. Viletta Nu. I spent the day wondering about what school life would be like, and wondering if any of those strange cat people would be in our classes. By Sunday I grew more comfortable talking about Lelouch and the incident, and my sister mentioned him while we talked the night before our first day.

"What do you think of him?" C.C. asked me.

"Eh? What do I think…?" At first he felt really cold, scary, and intimidating, but after seeing him with his sisters and that strange smile when I caught him...I couldn't make a judgment. "I don't know him well enough to say."

"You sure? You don't think anything of him?"

"What do you mean?"

"You are so dense, Celia," She rubbed my head while I stared back like a confused puppy.

I didn't get what she was implying at all, "C.C…" I whined.

"You'll get it soon enough." She gave me an amused smile, the C.C. special.

I was too tired to try to pinch the information out of her, so I just let it go. Both anxious and excited for my first day tomorrow, I wanted to just get it done and over with.

It seemed that would be impossible, because from the moment we arrived on grounds we were hounded with people asking questions about the rescue. Some spectators said they caught a glimpse of the heroic green haired girl, catching the fallen prince from certain death. I blushed a bit at the over-exaggeration, is this how people normally act? We arrived early to Ms. Viletta's class; in fact, we were the only ones in the room. The same beige colors imprinted on every uniform draped across the walls, and the room was lined with two person desks across the room, angled to the center podium.

Uneventfully, the whole class filed in followed by Ms. Viletta. She strode up to us as soon as possible, "You two are the new students?" Her question was rhetorical, she already knew, "I'll show you to your seats," she motioned for us to follow.

My seat was one away from the window, but no one was at the window seat. My sister on the other hand got the window seat in the row behind me. We both looked around and saw every seat filled except for two. Those were the seats behind and next to me. I caught a glimpse of Shirley, although her seat was positioned right next to the door.

Viletta announced the start of class from the front of the room. "Alright! Let's get started," She scanned the room and murmured, "Looks like both Suzaku and Lelouch are out today. If I didn't know any better I'd say they're skipping."

As if summoned by the sounds of their names, the door flew open. First Suzaku hurried in with a uniform that had sleeves on it, unlike the one he abandoned the other day, and out behind him…. My heart jumped again. I really hate that, because I can't figure out why it's doing that. Lelouch limped in a little lopsided. I saw bandages across his upper arm and around his forehead. The image of the blood resurfaced, making me look away. The bell rang.

"Close call, Lelouch, Kururugi," Viletta sounded uninterested, even towards Lelouch's cast, "Take your seats."

All eyes remained on Lelouch as he made his way over. I saw Shirley wince, a melancholy expression planted on her. That's when I figured out, Lelouch was coming toward _me._ My heartbeat sped up, and I kept my eyes trained on my desk, even as he sat down in the window seat. I wished he was in the row behind me, but then I remembered Cornelia's words. _Could you try to get along with him?_ I shook my head. W-why should I worry about him? I don't know the first thing about him.

I heard the seat behind me screech out and in, and I figured Suzaku's seat was there, next to my sister.

"Now that everyone is here… Why don't the new students introduce themselves? Stand up and say your names."

A pulse of nausea washed through me, stirring my eyes forward. With a moment's hesitation, I stood up, a second or two after my sister.

"My name is C.C. Gottwald."

I stuttered, "M-my name is Celia Gottwald."

"As you can see, we're both twins, and have just transferred here. We hope to get along well with everyone," she spoke eloquently, so much better than I could. We sat down immediately, and I could feel everyone's eyes boring into the both of us. Specifically, I could feel Lelouch staring at me using peripheral vision. He wouldn't make it open, but for whatever reason, he kept his eyes trained on me. If I said I was a little nervous, I'd be lying. His gaze made me feel extremely and completely antsy.

Thankfully, the rest of homeroom passed quickly, and in the next couple of classes, Lelouch sat away from me. The whole day was definitely one of the most shaky roller coaster rides I'd ever been on. And even when that final bell rang, the insanity continued. In the changing room after P.E., my sister gave me a soft look, "Not as bad as you thought?"

I contemplated it, and even with Lelouch's stalker-like glare all day, it wasn't completely terrifying. With enough practice, I could get used to it all, "Everything feels so new to me… I don't really like it."

"But you're surviving," she noted.

I sighed, but agreed, "Yes, I'm surviving."

Having P.E. last was a bit of a blessing, as afterward it allowed us both to change into our regular clothes without waiting to go home. As I slipped a white v-neck on I heard my sister say, "Apparently we're both forced to join a club while attending."

"Huh? It's a requirement?"

"Yes it is!" A loud, cheerful voice echoed from somewhere in the changing room. It made me jump a bit, but I recognized it from somewhere. The bubbly figure came in from the row over; it was that girl from the student council, the really seductive cat. It took me a minute to realize she had no top on, and looking at them with no cover, I had no doubt that her breasts were three times as big as mine. I felt tiny compared to her. My face scrunched up while I stared. "You two are the new transfer students, right? My name's Milly, I'm the president of the student council. So you two haven't joined a club yet?" We nodded, "Well then, join the student council! We could use some new light in there. For the last two years we've had the exact same members, so having you two around would definitely liven things up," she gave us a million dollar smile, hands resting easily at her hips.

"What days does the student council meet?" C.C. asked.

"Tuesdays and Thursdays are the official days, but we usually get together every school day," She had to be a size DD. No doubt about it.

I hardly heard my sister when she addressed me, "What do you think, Celia?

"Sure," I answered absentmindedly, my mind was on other things. It took my sister's agreement to joining as well to snap me out of it. By the time I realized what just happened, Milly was already gone, and my sister and I slammed out lockers shut. "Wait, what did I just agree to?"

"We're joining the student council."

…Something clicked. Lelouch was in the student council. My eyes widened, "W-wait, I can't!"

She flashed an amused look, "But you already agreed to it, Celia. Besides, I'm sure Lelouch probably wants to thank you for the other day. And don't you remember what Cornelia asked of us?"

I twiddled my thumbs, "B-but…"

She put a reassuring hand on my shoulder, "I'll be there with you. Don't worry."

I didn't say anything more. We both heard a locker slam shut and saw Milly walk by. "The council room is on the first floor, Room 109. We'll all do a scavenger hunt to welcome you both to the council!"

My sister caught the drift, "You already had this planned out?"

"From the moment I saw you two at the festival, I knew I needed to recruit you. So I already made preparations," She rose an all-knowing finger, "We'll have an initiation party Friday, and that's when the hunt will be."

"A scavenger hunt…" I repeated.

"Yup! It'll be a blast! See you both later!" She casually waltzed out the door, leaving both a stunned and surprised green haired girl in her wake.

**Author's Note**

I hate writing these things so long... Because the first time everything goes well, but editing it can be a real pain. Trying to get a good time table was also a bit annoying, but whatever. I tried to give Cornelia a sort of Guardian-like role over everyone. Like a godmother I suppose, no reason for her to be so bitter since this isn't the canon story. I know I said I wouldn't overlap, but it isn't the same events from different perspectives, it's two separate. Eh, whatever, no one really cares.~

Also, I can't be the only one who thinks Milly's breasts are waaaaaaay to big. _ I swear, I'm not weeeeird.

Next chapter'll time skip to the Scavenger hunt. Need to get things moving along, I feel like I might be boring peoples with a chapter like this.


	4. Chapter 4

_Lelouch_

The following week went by quickly and quietly. Milly kept giggling the whole time though, so I knew something was up. The two new transfer students just happened to be assigned into my class. I don't believe in coincidence, there's only luck. Everything happens for a reason, now it's up to me to play the cards I've been dealt. The entire week however, neither of them said anything to me, which is fine, but I felt as if they constantly watched me. Celia in particular tried her best in avoiding me, despite the fact that we sit right next to each other in homeroom.

We all lazed around the usual meeting table in the student council room when Milly burst through the doors. Her habitual grin seemed even wider than usual, but I'd not be the one to set off this atom bomb. Unfortunately, Suzaku chose to explode it, "What's got you in such a good mood, prez?"

She practically screamed, "We've got two new Council members!"

Great. Just Perfect.

Our president typically frightens off newbies, so an event like this is about as rare as Haley's Comet. Despite our prodding and poking, she wouldn't tell us anything about them. She only said that their welcoming party would be this Friday, and that she had 'something special' planned. I inwardly groaned, remembering her 'special dunk tank' at the festival. Knowing her, this new development couldn't be much better.

Eventually when Friday did roll around, my fears were confirmed. As we walked into the ball room preceding the council room I spied several large envelopes and bags. I saw streamers and party hats everywhere, and two green haired twins reclining at a table headed by our cheery blonde president. I put two and two together, "Our new members?"

Milly nodded, "But of course!" I chose to remain silent as she explained her plans. She used her best movie announcer voice, which was remarkable good, "Welcome, one and all!" I glanced around and found Gino and Anya lazing about, they're not on the council but show up so much they might as well be. "Today, to welcome our two new members, Celia and C.C., we will be holding the first ever Council scavenger hunt!"

Everyone clapped meekly. No enthusiasm necessary, "I will place you all into groups of three," I noticed Celia shift around uncomfortable at that, "and each group will take an envelope. Enclosed in these envelopes are your clues to the items! I'll call you all back in two hours, but if you get everything on the list first, you can come back and show me. Whoever has the most items on the list will win!"

"Win…What exactly prez?" Shirley asked.

"Good question! Each member of the winning group may ask for a favor from me!" She smiled.

"Not interested," I was about to turn around and walk away before Milly spoke up again.

"That's not everything, Lelouch," She held out a taunting finger, "If your team loses… One member from each team will have to do something _I _say." She winked.

I froze in place and faced her. She was good, "Alright then, name the groups."

"Okay! Group one: C.C., Suzaku, and Shirley!" I saw Celia's eyes sink down. No doubt she wanted to be in the same group as her sister, "Group two: Lelouch, Celia, and Anya!" My eyes moved to both my partners. Anya looked as emotionless as ever, and Celia tried to move her eyes everywhere but me. "Lastly, we have Rivalz, Kallen, and Gino!" I noticed that Nina was left out of the equation, but I didn't really care.

Gino's goofy smile rose just a little bit higher at the sound of his partners. We all scattered to meet up with our groups. I got Anya, the perpetual shut-in, and Celia, the shy heroine. Seems like a _real _talkative combination. I glanced over at Suzaku's group. Everyone seemed to be getting along well, and I could see Shirley looking longingly over at my group. She hadn't said a word to me since the incident, and I still haven't even thanked Celia for catching me. Perhaps while we're out today I'll have the chance. I don't just want to say it randomly; I need to time it right. Despite outward appearances, I do like to dramatize things. If I can make a good impression on the new girls, I suppose my life will go a little smoother. Especially with C.C., something about her gives me a bad premonition.

I decided to introduce myself to Celia, "Hello, my name is Lelouch Lamperouge." I held out a hand in what I thought was a friendly manner.

Celia held both her hands by her mouth in a defensive gesture, unsure how to respond, "…Celia Gottwald." She shook my hand cautiously, as if touching me could give her the plague.

I looked over at Anya, busily typing away at her cell phone, "Do you two know each other?"

Without looking up once she answered, "We're cousins."

I moved my sight back and forth between them, finding nothing in common besides the strange hair color. My puzzlement must've shown, "Umm… My dad's sister adopted her. She visits our estate from time to time," Celia elaborated.

It made sense. Afterward solving that mystery, I grabbed the envelope and tore it open. A slip of paper rested inside, with a simple phrase written down.

_I capture the beautiful, the ugly, the embarrassing, the shameful, the living, and even the dead._

Could Milly make this any easier? It's a camera obviously. Everyone read that aloud, meaning Celia and Anya both heard it loud and clear. Afterward we shuffled into the hall, all the way down so no one could overhear us.

"My phone will suffice. It has a camera built in," Anya didn't even bother explaining the answer. Celia's eyes widened with sudden comprehension after she said that. Not exactly the quickest girl. I flipped the page over to find a rather cryptic list.

_Offshore, Eligor, Gorgon, Power, Orthrus_

I flashed the list to the both of them. It was a clue to the next item. "What is it supposed to mean?" Celia didn't understand it.

"With the exception of the first item, all the things listed are creatures from mythology. Eligor refers to the 72 demons of Goetia; Power is a class of angels in Christian lore, and Gorgon and Orthrus are both mentioned in Greek mythology," I deduced.

Anya nodded, "That could be a clue to the actual item itself. The location is mentioned in the words themselves." She took the paper from me and pulled out a pen. She circled the second letter in each word, f-l-o-o-r.

"Floor…? Oh! Since it's the second letter of each word, does that mean to go to the second floor?" Celia gathered. Perhaps she wasn't that hopeless after all.

"Yes. Now let's go," We casually strolled up the stairs only to find C.C.'s group snooping around. My guess is that C.C. was the one who figured out the list in their group. I looked at Suzaku; he seemed to be enjoying himself with the group. They went into a classroom, the World History classroom. Of course! Offshore, and the varying mythologies, it meant the histories of all the different places. I barged in the room right behind them.

When we all shuffled in, we noticed that several sheets of paper lay scattered on a front row desk. I examined them quickly. _I open to few and close quickly, I feed on the light that others bring to me._ Suzaku read it aloud, and as the words echoed into my mind, I formulated about four possibilities. I flipped the page over, "The roof…"

It clicked. "Celia, Anya, follow me," I stomped off, headed toward the roof. Being back on the roof gave me more of a headache than I needed, because from that first step the memories came flooding back. The embarrassing things that happened with Shirley… I subconsciously scowled, and only when I noticed Celia nervously shift away from me did I stop. "Sorry."

Wait, why was I apologizing? I didn't do anything wrong. Anya raised her eyebrow a fraction of a centimeter, or so I thought. It could have been my imagination for all I know. Instead of asking what I was apologizing for, she instead made a whimper-like noise which I assume to be her acknowledgement of my apology.

…

…

The mood was right. I glanced over my shoulder, watching her shuffle around like she was about to explode. I gritted my teeth, and without looking said, "Thanks for catching me the other day."

I guessed that she looked up from the ground, "I-It was nothing. Don't worry about it."

The timing was right, but something about the theatrics felt wrong. Ignoring my own idiocy, I moved over to a potted plant around the middle of the roof. There were three: One for each group. Anya understood it immediately, and Celia took a minute to put two and two together. The rest of the hunt went in a similar fashion, run around, find paper, find item. Occasionally we ran into the other groups, but it seemed we were well ahead of the both of them. Our last clue took us to the hallway right outside of the clubroom. It was a slip of paper cleverly hidden underneath the rug. This time, Anya grabbed it and read it aloud.

_I am just two and two  
>I am warm, I am cold,<br>I am lawful, unlawful  
>A duty, a fault<br>I am often sold dear,  
>Good for nothing when bought;<br>An extraordinary boon,  
>and a matter of course,<br>and yielding with pleasure  
>When taken by force.<em>

"Do either of you know what it is?" Celia asked.

Anya and I exchanged glances. No doubt she understood it, and I did as well. Milly is a devious, sly little vixen. I ignored her question, too embarrassed to answer, "How will we do this when we get back?"

"Leave it to me," Anya turned around, texting again.

"W-wait! What's the answer to the riddle?"

"You'll see soon enough," Anya didn't elaborate for her and I didn't particularly care to either.

She gave me the same dumbfounded look, bringing a finger up to her mouth in a thoughtful gesture. As we approached the room, from the other direction came Suzaku's group, led by none other than C.C. Upon seeing myself and Celia, her face twisted into a cruel smile. I didn't understand her drift nor cared to comprehend it. Anya effortlessly plowed through the door with her arm, and the five of us followed. Suzaku sped up next to me and whispered, "You know what the answer to the last riddle was?"

I nodded, "Yeah. The one: 'I am just two and two.' You didn't get it?"

He shook his head, "No and neither did Shirley. As soon as C.C. read it, she said we needed to come back, that the answer lies there." Judging from his response, the last clue must have led everyone to different places, but given the same result. We only found one slip of paper under that rug after all.

"Quiet down! Everyone's here," Milly demanded. Sure enough, Gino's group just casually waltzed in, Kallen looking several more shades red. "So, who would like to show everyone the last item?" Anya raised her hand, "Your group goes first then."

"…First?" Celia sounded confused.

Anya grabbed the back of my collar and dragged me in front of Celia. She practically threw me and I staggered not to fall on top of her. We faced each other and I suddenly realized what Anya meant by, 'leave it to me.' Before I could protest, she grabbed the back of our heads and pushed them together into one of the most, if not the most awkward kiss ever. Her grip tightened on the pressure points of our necks, so she maneuvered our mouths right on top of one another with no interference. Both of our eyes widened in shock at first, our reactions and muscles moving sporadically and mechanically. But after a few seconds everything softened up, and we both closed our eyes. It felt a bit cliché to do something like that, but when you're in a moment like that, things just sort of…happen. Anya held our necks for god knows how long; and we couldn't move at all without her grip tightening and threatening to strangle us. Damn her. Finally, she let go, and to my surprise it actually took another moment for us to pull away. I couldn't see her face right after as she hid it in her hair, but I'm sure it was the same deep scarlet as mine.

"T-t-the answer was…"

"A kiss!" Milly proclaimed.

A whirl of emotions rushed through me, first and foremost, rage. "Anya, what the hell did you do that for!"

"Shut up. I know you enjoyed it," she stated so matter-o-factly.

I flinched, trying to think of something to say. No good, any response would make things even more complicated. "Y-you…" I couldn't say anything coherent anyway, I was too flustered. That entire kiss threw me off balance.

Milly gave us both a warm smile, and Celia couldn't bring herself to look at me at all. "Who's next?"

"That would be us," Gino stood up, "Need a hand, miss?"

Kallen slapped it away, "I'm fine."

"Well then," not one to waste time, Gino went straight to business pecking his lips on hers. It was only a fraction as long as mine and Celia's, and afterward Gino was groveling on the ground, hands to his groin.

Suzaku flinched, "Critical hit to the nads…" To say the very least, it was expected; the amusement from that almost made up for Anya's attack.

"And last but not least…"

C.C. stood up, and started walking. She didn't walk to Suzaku as he was the only boy in their group. Instead, she walked directly in front of me. She grabbed my collar, and pulled me straight into her face, the force of the pull landing my lips on hers.

What. The. Hell.

My eyes felt like they were about to pop out of my head. She held me there for a few seconds before pulling away, a mischievous grin plastered across her face. My confusion and outrage evidently made her happy. "Why the hell did y-"

"Shut up," Anya interrupted before I could finish my sentence.

I wasn't so mad that my first two kisses were from two different people, or even that they were on two people that I'm not in love with. I was angry with the fact that it was forced on me; I had no control over the matter. They just up and did it without my consent. In this sequence, I was the pawn, and I can't accept that. I was about to vent my rage, but C.C. started talking before I had the chance, "Because I felt like it."

…

That was it. I'm going to slaughter her; both she and Anya for taking control of me like that. Damn it. I didn't need to see the rest of their spectacle. I stormed out of the room without another word, frustrated with everyone. But most of all, I was angry at myself for being played so easily.

_Celia_

…I just had my first kiss. And it wasn't at all what I'd imagined. Not that I picture that kind of stuff often. Think about it, a tall, dark prince, waiting to sweep you away and fall in love with you, a fairy-book kiss. Then look at mine. The tall dark prince was still there, but not any of those other sweet things. Instead, the Evil Witch forced us together. Well, Anya isn't really a witch… Anyway, so she grabbed out heads and pushed them together. At first everything seemed rigid and robotic, but after the initial impact, it felt…nice. For at least a second, I wasn't afraid like I usually am. I felt like I could do anything, and once it ended, subconsciously—I…I wanted more of that feeling.

Not that I'd ever voice an opinion like that. It's probably all just lust anyway; I'm about that age where my hormones go wild, right? A single kiss doesn't mean I'm betrothed to him. A scary thought passed through my head, being married to Lelouch. He's so cold and mean, and I don't think I could stand it.

But then again, today he was pretty sincere. On the roof he actually thanked me for catching him last week. I got too flustered to answer him properly, but I told him not to worry about it. I laughed in my mind, only the strong say lines like that. I'm nowhere near strong. I'm just a normal girl whose sister does everything for her. When this realization struck, I held my head down out of shame, not daring to look up. I hardly noticed Lelouch's sudden outburst until Anya yelled at him to shut up, because he liked it. To this I'm sure my face reddened up more than a ripe tomato. I turned away out of embarrassment.

Apparently the other two, Kallen and Gino went for a kiss, and somehow Gino ended up on the ground. The third kiss really shocked me, my sis stood up, not walking to Suzaku or Shirley, but instead to Lelouch. She gripped his collar tightly and brought him in. No hesitation. My heart jumped when she did that. Is that what it looked like for me to kiss him…? Could I do something like that on my own?

A new emotion stirred in me, one that I couldn't identify. I was sort of angry at my sister, and at the same time, wished to be in her spot. It couldn't be…Jealousy? No. Nonono…. I'm not…

I shook my head, mentally scolding myself for even thinking something like that. It's just hormones, Celia, no need to get the wrong idea. Still… I looked back at them, Lelouch now a mile away from C.C., looking like he just witnessed the end of the world. He was about to explode when Anya cut him off.

"Shut up."

And then my sister explained why she did, "Because I felt like it."

Something about that phrase… Ticked me off. It made me angry, but I didn't know why. Not so angry that I'd get made at her for it, but angry enough to have a little tinge of annoyance. As usual, I chose to just stand silently and observe. Lelouch stormed out the room without another word. I swear I could see steam rising out of his ears he was so mad. The mood died right then, and despite Milly's attempts to bring it back, Lelouch tore it up too far gone. In the end, she settled to reconvene in an hour while someone tries to bring Lelouch back.

The rescue personal originally consisted of Shirley, Gino, and Suzaku, but it was talked down into just the brown haired boy. When my sis and Lelouch kissed, I saw Shirley look like she was about to shoot her, so I knew even if she did show up, things probably wouldn't end well. I sighed and was about to sit down, when C.C. grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the room. She cuffed my mouth and whispered, "We're going to follow them."

For what reason, I did not know. But I complied and followed along. We stealthily trailed the rather slim man as he silently strode to the gym. We saw Lelouch sitting on the bleachers alone, and as Suzaku went in the front entrance, we snuck around back. When all the motion stopped, we were under the bleachers while the two of them sat on top. It seemed the perfect place to eavesdrop, or so I'd assume.

"Don't look so down, Lelouch, you just got to kiss two pretty girls," Suzaku joked.

"Tsk, that isn't the problem."

Wait; did he just call us pretty? I blushed. My sister gave me one of those, _don't let it get to your head, _looks.

"Then tell me what the problem is. Everyone's worried about you."

He laughed, "Like hell they are."

Suzaku ignored him, "So, what's up this time?"

"You know damn well what's up," His words betrayed his voice. He actually sounded relaxed.

"Doesn't mean you should just storm out," Suzaku gave his two cents, "Think you might've offended one of them."

He chuckled, "You mean the twins? I don't know them that well, but C.C. seems like she can take it."

Suzaku returned the laugh, "You're right, but what about Celia?"

My heart skipped again, "What about her?"

"Remember what Anya said? 'You enjoyed it.' Did you enjoy kissing her? Or C.C.?"

A long silence ensued. "…I don't know."

I heard a playful punch followed by an 'ouch.' "You are such an idiot."

"Like you're much better," Lelouch retorted.

From there my sister grabbed me and we made our getaway. I felt a little bad for eavesdropping, it was a private conversation after all, but I couldn't stop thinking about what he said. Anya's words resonated in my mind. _You enjoyed it. _Was it possible that… That he was interested in me? No, it can't be. I kept telling myself, it's just me going through a phase, that's all. Nothing more, nothing less. I don't need to get all emotional about it.

As if reading my thoughts, my sis poked me, "So, what did you think of your first kiss?"

My face instantly flushed red, "W-what do you mean?"

"I meant what I asked, did you like it?" I hesitated, not really sure how to answer, "I'm not going to tell anyone. You of all people should know that."

I tried lowering my head to let my hair hide my face, just like earlier. I don't think it masked my expression that well, especially since my sister can see through any façade. Wait, if she can see through anything, she should already know the answer to her question. When I voiced this she replied, "You're right, I do. But I want to hear it come from your own mouth."

After a suitable pause, I replied, "…It was…nice. Hard at first, but soft…It's hard to explain." She smiled empathetically. I needed to shove the spotlight on her, "Well…Wasn't that your first kiss too, sis?"

The empathy turned to mischievousness, "Who can say?"

Unreadable as ever. I sighed. "What did you think of it?"

Her face grew more serious as she looked off in a random direction, like she was in another world, "It was soft like you said…But cold. It was devoid of any emotion."

My sister could be an excellent poet; she really has a way with words, "Huh…"

We stood around in silence thinking about it for a few moments, "C'mon, let's get back to the council."

I nodded as she led me back to the room. We were met with questions as to where we went, but my sister expertly dodged them all, giving them a somewhat vague satisfaction. A couple minutes later, two girls walked into the room.

Something about them pricked at my memory. Long flowing pink hair and a small middle school student, it struck me then, they were the ones I saw the day Lelouch fell. Milly motioned them over to us. "Hello there! These are our two new council members!" She smiled.

"I'm C.C. and this is my sister," I wanted to interrupt her to introduce myself, but as usual, my confidence waned right as I was about to speak up, "Celia."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Nunnally!" The smaller girl beamed.

"And I'm Euphemia, but you can call me Euphy," She smiled, "We're both Lelouch's sisters."

Then it clicked, I remembered that Cornelia said she was Lelouch's sister, or half-sister rather. I wondered if they were his full blooded relatives, there's always the possibility that they weren't even related and just living together. I mentally shook myself. I don't need to play detective with Lelouch's family.

"It's nice to meet you two," My sister answered for the two of us.

I noticed Nunnally playing with her fingers rather awkwardly, "Umm… Which one of you was the one that saved Lelouch?"

My sister pointed to me, I jumped a little, "That would be my sister, Celia."

Nunnally bowed politely, "Thank you so much for saving my brother."

"Yes, we owe you for catching him, he would've been in a lot worse shape had you not caught him," Euphy added.

It was a little embarrassing having two strangers bowing to you. All eyes in the room made their way to us, making me feel self-conscious. "I-It was nothing, don't worry about it." Same reply I used when Lelouch thanked me. I can never come up with anything original, can I?

Nunnally grabbed my hand, "It wasn't 'nothing'! Without you, my brother might have died! We have to repay you!"

Her adamancy shone through, and Euphy spoke up, "Hey, why don't both of you come over to our place this Sunday? We can all go out to the mall together."

Nunnally turned and smiled, "That's a great idea! And you can have dinner with us too!"

From both of their bright smiles, neither of us had the heart to refuse. Well, I'm sure C.C. could weasel out of it if she truly wanted to. "Sounds like fun," My sister answered, "Then we'll see you all Sunday."

The rest of the party passed uneventfully, despite Lelouch's outburst. Lelouch arrived with Suzaku not too long after, and Anya was undeterred from his cold-shoulder. They didn't seem particularly close anyway. He made no effort to talk to either me or my sister, to which I was partially glad for. I didn't really want to talk to him after what just happened. Another hour or two later, they served cake for us. They didn't need to do this party for us, but it felt nice that they did it anyway. It wasn't something I'm used to, and the kindness from Nunnally and Euphy was definitely not expected. The four of us bonded well during the party, and by the time it ended, I wasn't so scared of going out with them on Sunday.

What I was afraid of, was going to the mall with Lelouch in tow.

**Author's Note**

I actually had 90% of this written a week ago. I've been really busy, my Birthday just passed, been doing a bunch of extracurricular stuff and getting ready for school to start up. And trust me, once school starts up, I won't be able to post these as often. So buckle down peoples, I won't be able to update as often. Anyway, read and enjoy.


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